Turmoils rule
by basilFF
Summary: Harry set's of on his own to confront Voldermort. When Hermoine learns of this she appears to be the only one who wants to chase after him. Why are the Weasley’s trying to stop Harry from getting help when he needs it the most? A take on what could happen
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter universe. I actually hardly own anything from the other universe as well!

note This started as a project to increase the quality of my English writing which I find very constructive for my studies (paper writing and all but that's something totally different). However I do hope the story and writing hasn't suffered too much from the actual learning curve and of course that which I have yet to learn!

I played around with the darn enter key 

**Turmoil's rule**

**Chapter 1**

The rain stung his face as it poured down from the clouded sky. The strong wind kept throwing leaves and small branches at him relentlessly.

"Well this ought keep them of my trail for a while" He muttered to himself as it dawned upon him that could not have chosen a better day then this to disappear. The drizzle of the afternoon had turned into a raging storm. The news had warned everyone to stay inside saying that it was just too dangerous to go out. "Oh like this little added excitement will kill me" he thought. Two small lights appearing on the horizon caught his attention.

"A car? Or perhaps it's… " He decided that he couldn't risk sticking to the roads. In spite of the weather warning a number of cars had already passed him and he really didn't want anyone to see him. As the lights grew larger he chose to enter the forest that had been growing denser since it had joined the skyline about an hour ago. He made a motion with the wooden stick in his hands. The darkness was absolute. The clouds where blocking the moonlight so the only illumination came from the occasional lightning bolt harassing the countryside in the distance. He carefully stepped forward trying to reach for some tree branches but without the light he had just extinguished he couldn't see a thing.

"Wrong order, I'm going to need my wand again." He smirked at himself.

"Great you're even making a fool out of yourself with no one around Potter!" His hands reached back into the long coat his fingers probing for the wooden device.

"Not there?" He felt his hand go right through the pocket. It had ripped open and a gaping hole now occupied it's the former location. He tried to reach in his other pockets but the ground was slippery and he had to balance himself.

"Oh no" The ground beneath his right leg was slipping away. He tried to lean forward to stabilize himself but that only made it worse. His entire body was sent into a freefall.

"Should have checked for that" He was surprised at how indifferent he felt about plummeting to his death. It seemed to last ages. He saw the light passing above and then the world went black.

"Well that's just absurd! We can't let him do this, we have to find him!" She was nearly yelling waving her hands fanatically as she tried to prove her point.

"I can't believe he wrote that letter himself or that Dumbledore would even let him do this! We have to stop him!" The argument had nearly taken three hours. The plumb women standing near the door was the only one who dared to go against her at this point.

"We can't dear! I know this must be very hard on you" she turned towards the redheaded boy in the opposite chair.

"For both of you. But this is beyond our control"

"How can you say that? He needs our help! It's too dangerous it doesn't make sense!" She turned her head to the boy.

"Common Ron help me with this!" His face clearly showed the doubt in his mind, either help her or and go against his mother or play it the other way around, he could not decide which of the two options was the better one. Just as he opened his mouth to say something she intervened.

"Should I spell it out for you! He's going to die if we do not help him! Die as in dead! A corpse! He'll be gone do you even care about that!" The red haired women turned towards her

"Hermoine! That's enough!" Her eyes contained a strange mixture of shock and anger at the girl in front of her. After a few moments her face softened to it's usual self. She let out a long drawn sigh

"You two ought to have been in bed hours ago. We can continue this in the morning but right now you need your sleep!" Hermoine's expressions remained determined through all this but she softened after a few seconds.

"Your right Misses Weasley. I'm sorry. Ron I didn't mean it like that, it's just we have to help him." He didn't look directly at her when he answered

"It's okay".

She lifted herself from the chair and headed for the nearest door.

"Sleep well dear" Misses Weasley said. Hermoine turned her head and smiled she then closed the door behind her and went up the stairs. Slow footsteps from the direction of the kitchen announced that Ron's father Arthur had decided it was safe to enter again.

"Do you think she's really going to bed?" Arthur had wisely not intervened in the discussion in fear of getting caught between two rather dangerous forces. Namely that of his wife and the witch prodigy of Hogwarts.

"I'm not sure" Misses Weasley answered. She thought about it for a few moments. Ron observed her closely as she locked eyes with her husband.

"Either way we've got the alarm installed haven't we? " Arthur gave her a faint nod and then sat down in the chair Hermoine had left vacant.

Harry was lying on his back as he felt a cold draught moving past his legs. His head was pounding in a way that could life up to the worse he had experienced in his life although the source was not quite the same as usual.

"Either I'm not dead or heaven is not what it's supposed to be!" He slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark except for a small candle on a table opposite of the bed he was in. It burned with little vigor and hardly any warmth came of it. His chest was covered under a blanket while his legs had partially fallen out of the bed on top of each other. He placed his right leg back on the bed and then tried to do the same with the left leg but he was shocked to find out he couldn't move it.

"Is it broken? Paralyzed?" Harry was racing all sorts of horrible conditions through his mind but relief struck him as he felt blood racing back through the veins.

"Or you've been lying on top of it" He thought to himself. Despite the relief Harry was in a outright horrible condition his body felt like a soar lump. He closed his eyes again. His mind was tired and craving for some rest to process the events of the past two days. Before he knew it he fell back to sleep.

She entered her bedroom in a hurry.

"Now where are you?" She mumbled while her eyes scanned the room for a small black wooden box. "Ah!" She picked it up and placed it in her rucksack. Hermoine then turned to the closet, grabbed some random clothes and put them in the rucksack as well. She noticed a few of her new schoolbooks on the nightstand, her usual 'light' reading,

"Oh guys I really wish I could take you but there's just no space!" she whispered to them as she added the last basic requirements to the bag. Heading back to the door she noticed a figure near the window. "Crookshanks" Hermoine sighed.

"Do not give me that look you know that this needs to be done!" The cat gave her a questioning expression "Oh what do you know you're just a cat!" Offended by this degradation Crookshanks turned around to show his back as a voice of protest.

"Oh really Molly! Just stay here and stop fretting about Hermoine!" Arthur demanded. Demanding was his last resort although it had never actually worked.

"What do you mean I can't?" She retorted.

"There we go" he thought to himself. "Look dear we…" He was cut off by a sudden loud ringing that came from outside.

"Is that?" Molly asked with a hint of disbelieve in her voice.

"She can't possibly be trying to…" The second Ron realized what was going on he jumped up from his chair and darted of towards the door. Pulling it open he ran outside his long legs carrying him with a great speed. He looked around and spotted a young women caught up in between what seemed glowing ropes. A large bell was ringing above her head announcing that the trap had worked. He speeded off to free her. As he got closer Ron noticed how frantically Hermoine was trying to get out.

"Couldn't she see there was no point to it?" He reached out to remove some ropes that had gotten caught up near her throat.

"Hermoine calm down will you!" He poked his right arm through the network of robes that where slowly entangling her.

"Just calm down the more you struggle like that the more… ouch!" Ron quickly pulled his hands back as he felt a piercing pain in his hand.

"What the? Have you gone totally bonkers?" Two large bite marks where visible on his hand. Luckily she had not really damage it but the mental shock was rather large. His father had finally caught up with him. Arthur gave him a questing look as he noticed the bite marks.

"She's gone mad!" Ron said his eyes wide. Hermoine let out a hiss in response.

"See! Mad!" Arthur took a closer look at the entangled girl.

"No Ron's she's not" He took out his wand and tabbed it on her twice. Hermoine's figure started to drastically reshape.

"Crookshanks!" Ron blurted out.

"She got away" Arthur smirked "Of course she had!".

"They will all abandon you!" Harry turned around he was standing in the middle of a long road flanked by tall dark bushes. Only the moon partially hidden by light clouds shed some light on where he was.

"My wand!" He reached in his pockets.

"It's not here! Blast!" Looking around Harry could not find a single point of recognition.

"They will all abandon you!" The shrill voice chilled his bones but what was even more disturbing he had no idea where it came from.

"Who are you!?" He demanded to know but the voice replied:

"It's too late they will all abandon you!" Harry felt cold as if his very body was frozen in place. He had to move somewhere so he decided to head in the direction of the moon, the light, but he struggled to keep to his feet. A hollow laugh erupted.

"Who's laughing?" he stopped moving. The bushes where only taking him in one direction. It seemed as if he was getting absolutely nowhere. The laughing kept getting louder almost as if it was taking over his body. Anger started to rise within him.

"Who are you!" He demanded again but once more Harry didn't get the reply he wanted.

"They will all abandon you! Just like they abandoned me! All of them!" It sounded like a women but her voice was filled with hatred that could be felt in every tone as it vibrated through the night sky. He started to move again lumping forward. The laughing was driving him mad. He needed it out of his head.

"Stop that! Stop laughing!" He reached for his temple with his hands.

"Stop it! Stop it now!" He wanted nothing more then to grab his brain and shake the laughing out of his body. "Stop it!" He moved his hands lower and he felt the strange contours of his lips.

"I am the one laughing? Why am I laughing! Stop it!" He felt as if he was loosing control of his own body. Harry fell to the ground unable to move any further. He fought to regain some control over his muscles. The laughing at this point was simply hysterical. The voice was in the air again.

"Why did they abandon me?" He crawled around in muddy soil unable to do anything he felt his mind slipping into insanity.

"Why did you do it? Why Harry?" He jerked his head up towards the sky at the mention of his name

"I don't know who you are!" He shouted. The voice let out a long girlish giggle but with the same cold touch.

"You'll remember soon enough! You always do!" Harry felt the laughing in his head receding. He could move his own limbs again. The voice seemed to have disappeared along with the hysteria he was going through. Before he could catch his breath he started to move again desperate to get away from wherever he was.

"What's that?" An opening seemed to appear in the distance. As he got closer he could clearly distinguish the form of a kneeling man near a fountain of some sort.

"Sir?" He asked when he finally got there.

"Hello?" The figure did not respond. He appeared to be sobbing. Harry moved forward and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The cowering figure turned around slowly. When their eyes locked he felt a great shock surging through him.

"No this can't be!"

There was only one place she could start looking for Harry, Privet drive. Unfortunately the Weasley's and with them the entire wizarding world knew this as well. Hermoine still had problems understanding why they had tried to stop her to such an extreme as using magical barriers. It could just be that Molly was overprotective but the trap had not been exactly gentle to Crookshanks. However that puzzle would have to wait finding Harry was her priority.

She approached number 4 Privet drive carefully. Hermoine assumed quite correctly that the house would be littered with magical barriers as well. That ruled out the use of her wand. A church tower in the distance announced that the new day was two hours young. She crossed the lawn and walked up to the wall underneath Harry's bedroom window.

"I can't believe I'm considering this!" She though to herself. The only way for her to get close to it was by climbing up the wall. Fortunately it was stylishly decorated with all sorts of plants that would give her something to hold on to but she did not fancy the idea nevertheless. Not to mention that although the storm had somewhat withdrawn the wind's could still be considered strong.

Hermoine took out the small wooden box in her rucksack and placed it in her pocket. She then hid the rucksack behind a small bush and reached for the first branch pulling herself up while probing the wall with her feet for support. When she finally settled in a somewhat stable position she looked down hoping to see a great distance between herself and ground. She had in fact managed to climb about ten inches. Somewhat disappointed she continued her way upwards.

When Hermoine was about halfway there her arms started to ache under the stress of her body. Although she wasn't heavy her muscle's where not made for long climbs and by the time she had gotten to the window her body was sending painful signals that it wasn't all to happy with the sudden outburst of physical activity.

"We've gone over this a thousand time's there's no evidence that he didn't plan to go to the Hollow lying around here!" A muffled voice came from Harry's bedroom. Hermoine faintly recognized it but she couldn't come up with a name to match it.

"There is! If your not comfortable with helping me out here head back to the order's hunt!" A female voice spoke.

"Look I understand that you trust Remus completely in the matter but if they find out we abandoned the manhunt!" The man persisted.

"They will grow suspicious of us if we do not return soon." The women let out a long sigh

"Your right. Look let's just check this corner one more time and then we can head back to the portkey. Okay?" Hermoine's arms where nearly giving out but she had to hang on. It bothered her that she could not remember the names of the two wizards in the room above and needles to say their conversation was quickly adding more questions to her need-to-know list. If she could just hang out a little longer!

Her arms where starting to tremble and the two figures had not spoken for almost a minute. She desperately wanted to know the location of the portkey they mentioned as it would most likely provide her with a direct link to Harry's last known whereabouts.

She had reached her limit though. Hermoine lifted her right hand to start the descend but the sudden change in balance put to much strain on her weary left arm and she started to slip. She fought to regain some grip but her arms did not have enough strength left in them to stop her uncontrolled descent from speeding up. It was over before she could even think about it. Hermoine had fortunately landed in a small bush that broke her fall but not before making a thunderous roar of breaking twigs and rattled leaves.

The two wizards had of course not missed the ruckus Hermoine made. Their eyes locked each daring the other to go and check it out. The female wizard was the first to work up the courage and she made her way to the window slowly but above all as silent as possible. They had used potions on the Dursley's to assure they would not wake up and interrupt their search but if someone had been spying on them playing safe was always the better option. She opened the window carefully and then stuck her head out in the same fashion. The plants where ravaged and the signs that someone had fallen down where apparent. But whoever it was had disappeared.

Hermoine's heart was bouncing around in her chest. Not only had she fallen down from a height that was far greater then she usually dared to go but she had also managed to scramble to her feet and run around the corner just in time to avoid being spotted. She was leaning against the wall trying to catch her breath but she knew that they would come down and look for her. Hermoine looked around the corner

"Still clear!" Deciding that it was now or never she started to run across the garden into safety.

"Just a yard or two!" Hermoine thought to herself.

"Just a few more steps!" She had failed to notice a small garden gnome though that was standing out just high enough to make sure her foot would hit it causing her to trip.

"Oh please!" Her irritation at this ludicrous obstacle was rising but then she felt a familiar sensation as the portkey did its magic.

Harry stood in shock as he stared at the scar that marked the old man in front of him.

"This can't be!" he repeated in disbelief. The man quickly used one of his hands to cover up the lighting bolt shape on his forehead. He had long thin silver hair that partially hid his face. The eyes however where his most shocking feature. They seemed empty as if the soul itself had simply departed from the body but it was evident that he had been crying.

"Who are you!?" Harry demanded to know from him.

"No! no! no! you should run! Run while you still can or else she'll find you! Run! We failed! We couldn't stop him we failed!" The old man kept repeating himself continually trying to persuade Harry they had both failed.

"Who did we fail?" He tried to ask but that resulted in nothing. Harry stood up and walked to the fountain trying to make sense of what was going on. He looked at the water, the moon's reflection was clear but when he looked at this own the empty eyes of the old man where staring at him.

"Impossible!" He turned around and grabbed the man by his shoulders and lifted him up.

"How did we fail!" He shouted as he tried to shake it out of him but the man would only attempt to convince Harry he already knew.

"Who was that voice?" He tried next but this triggered a anxious chuckle.

"She's lonely! Very lonely! Can't rest you see. Can't find peace! No sir can't find peace!" Then he locked eyes with Harry his face turning serious.

"We failed her" After that the chuckling started again. Clouds started to cover the moon's light completely and a cold breeze suddenly swept past them. When he looked at the fountain he could clearly see a shadow forming behind him. He quickly turned but saw nothing. It was getting darker as less moonlight managed to break through the clouds. The old man was whimpering and trying to make himself as small as possible. "What's wrong?" he asked but the man no longer responded.

"Hey what's go…." Harry's eyes widened as they passed the fountains reflection again. A pale image of a girl he recognized all to well was standing right next to him but when he turned his head he could not see her. But she was there in the reflection. Her mouth was moving but no sound came from it.

"Hermoine!..." His mind could not keep up with the rapidly succeeding events and he simply failed to produce a thought. The image of Hermoine was still talking and he realized all to well the misery and sadness in her pale face. Realization struck him.

"Did I fail you?" He asked as tears started to form.

"How Hermoine? How did you… Did he do this to you?" He felt the hysterical emotions welling up inside of him again. Hermoine lifted her right hand and reached out to him through the water. He did the same.

"No! no! no!" The old man started to mumble but Harry was too preoccupied with touching the reflection to notice him. When his hand made contact with the ice cold water he saw Hermoine breaking a smile. Not one of happiness but madness. Every muscle in his body abandoned him again and with a great splash he fell in the water face down.

He lost control over his own mind as it started to present him with series of images. Hermoine hit by a green flash of light. Harry kneeling down next to her body while she tried frantically to warn him about Voldermort's presence. How he completely ignored her. How she could not touch him. How Harry himself got hit by the green light and finally he looked down on his own body. The eyes still open portrayed those he had seen in the old man.

"Memories?" He thought to himself. "But how is that possible?" One emotion become dominant through this all, sadness. It filled his heart to such and extend that he simply lost the will to struggle against the growing darkness as he sank deeper in the water. He felt it filling his mouth. It was ice cold and made him feel as if a thousand knives where stinging him from the inside as it progressed through his body. Then for the third time in one evening the world around him turned black. He embraced it and then lost consciousness.

Hermoine had never been a particular fan of portkey travel and today's trip was certainly not about to change her opinion. When she finally touched down her mind had formed a determination not to use any magically induced forms of transportation for the coming weeks. If at all possible. Reminding herself of why she had taken the portkey in the first place she looked around trying to get an impression of the surrounding.

Two lights where jumping around in distance but otherwise the area was totally deprived of light but the abundant sound of rustling leaves made it evident. The portkey had taken her to a forest. She took out her wand but then decided it was a bit to tricky to use magic before knowing what she had exactly ended up in. Fortunately her patience was not put to the test. The two lights had moved towards her and she could now clearly hear voices accompanying them. She decided to hide a bit deeper in the forest incase the figures would spot her.

"There's no way I'm going to check Hermit's Lodge Tulles!" One of the voices complained.

"I could not agree more mate! There's no point in getting ourselves killed of so soon. But you know what Lupin said if we can not confirm Potters location to the dark lord within two day's the deal's off." The mention of Lupin's name caused pang of discomfort with Hermoine. She had not missed it at Privet drive but there was no reason to assume what she was hearing now.

Could the order have struck a deal with You-Know-Who involving Harry? It made little sense but for the moment the safest option would be to avoid all contact whatsoever until she had figured out what was going on.

"Shame there's no trace of him though" The voices continued.

"True but we did our best." Then they where silent for a few seconds. Hermoine could not see what they where doing but when she heard two loud pop's it was clear they where gone. At least she had found a new place to look for him. This so called Hermit's Lodge did not ring a bell and true she had no idea where it was but it was something.

"Lumos" The tip of her wand lighted up and a small dirt path became visible. Having no real alternative Hermoine decided to follow it. The ground was muddy and progress was slow. The storm had now completely settled but the traces it left had far from faded. After about an hour of working her way through the mud she had nearly given up on finding anything that even resembled human life. Then a light passed above her and she could clearly distinguish the difference in height between herself and the light source above. But that was not all.

A large coat she recognized at once was stuck on a rock on a slope. A plain stroke of luck but Hermoine was not about to deprive herself of the joy of finding at least some clue that Harry had been there. But that same joy left her when she realized he had most likely fallen down. She traced the course his fall would have taken him on with her wand. Stones, small tree trunks all together it looked extremely painful if not deadly.

"Oh?" A small wooden stick was lying at the base of the slope. Not a very uncommon sighting in a forest but the shape indicated it was manmade. She picked it up.

"Harry's wand!" The thought of him deprived of his wand added new resolve to find him. Looking around Hermoine spotted that besides her own footsteps there was a single trail leading deeper into the forest and away from the muddy path. Following it she was getting soaked by the trees and the water filling her shoes was becoming most irritable. After about fifteen minutes a small wooden lodge appeared amidst the dark forest.

"It's here!" Hermoine thought while excitement filled her strained body relieving it of the pain in her aching muscles. The only place the wizards had not dared to look and thus if he was still in the forest the only place Harry could be hiding. The lodge was old. The windows where no longer in place except for the frames. The sturdy wooden door was battered by the wind. She approached carefully the wood crackling underneath her feet as the door opened slowly.

The lodge was nothing more then a single room with another door in the back. It looked as if no one had set foot inside for many years. The furniture did not appear to have aged that much but it had not been moved judging from the dust buildup. It also appeared to be modern by wizarding standards which was odd. There was one thing that struck her. Imprints in the dust on the bed and on the floor before it. She traced the dusty lines in the bed with her eyes to confirm what she already knew. A person had recently slept there. Hermoine moved towards the bed for a closer look. Splash!

The loud sound startled her. It came from the back of the lodge and sounded exactly as if….. She charged towards the backdoor but it was locked. At the same time a gust of wind had closed the front door and shut it in place.

"The windows" She thought to herself remembering that they where no longer in place

"How….?" Hermoine was staring at her own reflection in what seemed to be a rather old glass window barred with wood from the outside.

"Impossible!" She battered the door with her hands but it did not seem to care very much for her rigorous attempt to convince it to open. Neither did the windows when she tried to smash them using one of the chairs. It simply bounced off the glass.

The wind outside was picking up and making a eerie high-pitched howl where the edges of the lodge cut it. There was only one more thing to try. Hermoine grabbed her wand and started to mutter a spell. The tip of the wand lighted up with a bright red flare that left a trail in the air. It hit the door with full force and launched it off right into the forest.

Unfortunately the impact was too much for the old shed as it's large support beams started to fall out of place taking down the entire roof with them. In danger of getting caught underneath the roof Hermoine dashed towards the exit. Just as she nearly got out one of the beams came falling down. An old nail sticking out of it missed her skin by a hairs width but unfortunately it did entangle itself in her coat almost throwing her back in the collapsing shed.

Resisting the force she tried to launch herself forward but when the coat slipped of and she tumbled face down into the forest soil.

"NO!" The small black box was still in the coat's pocket and was in danger of being crushed underneath the falling woodwork. The rest of the roof was still crackling and it would not be long before the entire thing would collapse. She got up quickly and turned around grabbing the piece of her coat that was sticking out underneath the wooden beam. The beam that caught it was too heavy and it still had the nail stuck in it which pierced her coat. It would not allow it to move.

She raised the wand that was still in her hand. Just as Hermoine had started the incantation to remove the beam the entire roof came crushing down. When another large piece of wood hit the beam a small blue explosion occurred.

"No dammed!" She knew only too well what the explosion had meant. The device inside the box was destroyed. Panic started to fill her mind distracting her by presenting variables and possibilities of what it's destruction might do. As she became increasingly consumed by the doomsday scenario's in her head one thought turned it back to reality. The splash!

She ran around the back of the shed quickly spotting a large pool of water. The wrinkles in it had just died out as she reached it but it was clear something or someone had fallen down. She brought her wand close to the surface the light at it's tip illuminating the pools depth's

"Harry!" Hermoine saw his body floating about halfway to the surface. Still in range of her arms reach she pulled him out. His face felt cold as she touched it with her hands. He was only wearing his pants and a ripped shirt. Bruises and cuts, most likely from his fall of the slope, where visible on his entire body. But that was not the most fearful aspect of the young man she held closely in her arms.

The one thing that made her tremble in fear was the lack of movement in his chest. Harry had stopped breathing.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was unsure of where he was until he saw his own body. He floated above it, detached. Hermoine was holding him her bushy hair covering his face. When he looked at his body he felt resent against it welling up inside of him. It was a bruised figure the vessel of so much physical pain. The idea of returning to it did not seem attractive at all. He felt slightly guilty of leaving Hermoine behind who was clinging on to him so fiercely, crying and begging him to come back.

"Harry" He heard a familiar voice echoing above."Mom?" He asked calmly. As he looked up he saw two figures that appeared from within a pure white light. Despite the fact that it shone so brightly it did not hurt his eyes at all. It was one of the most beautiful spectacles he had ever witnessed and it gave him a peaceful feeling throughout his body.

"It's not your time yet son." This time he heard his father speak to him. "But I'm tired of it dad! Can't this just be?" The figures moved forward. As they got closer to him he began to distinguish his parents features. When they where right in front of him his father placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know there are times when you just want to give up Harry. No times where you just can't keep on going. But! those are the moments you will have to put your foot down and support on your most precious possession!" His father finished with a playful smile, daring him to guess what that possession might be. Harry looked at Hermoine.

"My friends?" he said with a smile on his face. "Yes Harry! The most precious possession you have that which the dark lord does not have is love. That which the people you touch accept from you and return. You can never allow yourself to fail them Harry." His father and mother turned too look at Hermoine who was still clinging on to him.

"Do not fail her. She will lead an unhappy life if you do." He finished. His mother now also placed a hand on his free shoulder. "Go back Harry! We'll meet again but not before you'll have found yourself and the happiness you've sought for. Everything up to this point has not been for nothing. You will see do not give up now!" He felt his old strength and determination returning to. As he looked at them his parents gave him a reassuring nod. Then he felt warmth in his mouth that quickly shot to his lungs. He was slowly being pulled back to his body. His parents had turned around and where walking back in the light that was now growing dim. They looked over their shoulders one more time smiling. His vision turned black but at the same time he heard a sound in the distance that was slowly growing louder.

Beep…. Beep…. Beep…. The monotone of beeps felt reassuring. He slowly opened his eyes. He was in a comfortable hospitable bed. His body still felt a bit sore but the painful strain on it had lifted. Not only his body felt revived his mind also seemed clear, almost perfectly at peace with itself. Harry had not felt this well in ages. When he looked down he was greeted by a bush of brown hair near his waist. Hermoine had fallen asleep and was using his bed as head support.

He looked around. The room was very comfortable indeed. The walls where painted with a pleasant shade of purple. A single but large window let in exactly the right amount of light. Despite the fact that it was a single room, and even more surprising a single room in a hospital, it was pretty large. After a few minutes he was done inspecting the room and feeling somewhat settled Harry decided to follow Hermione's example and get some more rest before the questions that where forming inside his mind took a definitive shape. He closed his eyes. "Dear god this can't be…!"

He opened his eyes again with a small mixture of surprise and humor in his face. Hermoine had, just as Harry had closed his eyes, started to snore at a pretty disturbing level. Amused with the apparent imperfection of Miss Perfect he picked up a small towel on his nightstand and threw it at her. It landed perfectly on her head.

"Not not yet… Just one more… I'll answer the last question just give me one more second… No!!!" She darted her head up in the air the towel still covering it.

"How did you get on my head?" She asked the towel while turning towards Harry's nightstand to place it back. Hermione's eyes widened considerably. They actually went to the point that Harry feared they might fall out.

"Hey!" He said as happy as he could sound. She launched herself forward embracing him in a what felt as a nearly fatal hug.

"Oi Hermoine! Leave something for Voldermort will you!" She released him and sat down again "Oh Harry I'm sorry it's just!" She stopped to inspected him closely. Her face gave away the surprise.

"You look great actually!" Harry smirked "Yes well I would have thought that you would have had a nightmare about something else then school after I had nearly died Hermoine" He teased with a fake trace of disappointment in his voice. Her face turned slightly red.

"Yes well! Actually.. You see when I get really nervous or anxious I tend to dream about school. I know it's really silly but!..." Deciding he had put her through enough Harry interrupted.

"I know! Sorry about that I just couldn't resist." Again Hermoine looked very much surprised. He had been through a horrible ordeal which was just the tip of the iceberg recalling past events yet here he was joking around as if nothing was wrong. It made her doubt if he knew just how serious this had been.

"You know you could have just as easily been dead Harry?" He just gave her another smirk before retorting: "Even more reason to make the best of it don't you think?" It was turning out to be a night full of surprises for Hogwarts witch prodigy.

"You know something about you is different. What happened?" He hesitated before answering: "Allot actually… But to be honest I'm not quite ready to talk about it. I'm having some problems processing it all." Hermoine would however not let go so easily "You know sometimes talking can help with that." He nodded.

"I know. It's just allot to take in right now. I mean everything that has happened over the past few years it seems as if it's all cumulating to this very moment. I know it sounds silly but I don't fully understand it yet. You know what? As soon as I know you'll be the first person I talk to." The compromise was enough for her.

"But there's a few things I would like to know" She explained to him how she had found him. After he had started breathing again she had rushed him to a muggle hospital fearing contact with the wizarding world. Harry had allot of trouble accepting what Hermoine had to tell him about the order and the Weasley's. He insisted on heading over to them straight away and asking face to face what the deal was, not believing that they had any intention to harm him. But she managed to convince him that he should first rest some more and after that the two of them would find out what exactly was going on. In the mean time they would avoid contact with the wizarding world as much as possible.

Just as they where wrapping up a nurse entered the room. She seemed like a grey haired copy of Misses Weasley.

"Hello dear! Oh my seems like you've woken up at last haven't you?" She certainly was as lively as Molly. "Yes I have" He replied.

"Oh well you've been asleep long enough. Young men should not lie on their backs all day long now shouldn't they?" She said while moving around adjusting his bed a bit and straightening out the sheets." Well looks like your all right." She glanced at Hermoine

"I suppose you and the Misses have allot to talk about I'll be right on my way now!" Harry's mouth was standing wide open while Hermoine's was ajar her finger pointing in the air trying to interrupt the nurse but she would have non of it.

"So dinner will be brought to your bed at five and I'm sure doctor Twitch will want to check you out once she starts her shift but that won't be till eight tonight! Now I know the two of you have allot of catching up to do dears but do remember this is a hospital will you love?" She winked in his direction before leaving the room again. Harry looked at the door flabbergasted as Hermoine tried to come up with something to say.

"I can explain this!" She finally blurted out. "You know Rita is going to enjoy this when she finds out!" He retorted but she would not be cornered so easily "Oh Harry grow up! There's no way they would have let me stay with you like this if they thought I was just your friend." She stated and of course it was very much true.

"And they believed you?" She did not reply.

"You used magic on them didn't you?" Spot on.

"Well just a little! And besides I figured they would be able to find it in their hearts to forgive me once they find out that one of the darkest wizard to have walked this earth will not manage to kill them!"

"A small paradox though Hermoine these people will never know?" She sighed as a response "Technicality" As much holes as her excuse might have he realized quite well that it had was needed and had at least allowed for her to be with him. They spend the rest of the day exchanging experiences of what had happened. Harry wanted to find out what was going on with the order as soon as he was discharged but Hermoine seemed preoccupied with finding out more about the Lodge he had apparently spend some time in. Though he bombarded her with questions about it she never gave away why she was so interested in it. When the doctor Twitch had given him his checkup she declared him healthy. Although the good doctor had insisted on Harry following some rehabilitation sessions. He was pretty sure he could do without them until Hermoine found him face down on the floor of his room after he had tried to bust out. His recovery was however speedy and after just two weeks he was discharged. Although Hermoine had been warned to keep an eye out for post-traumatic stress.

Out in the open air again the debate on what matter to investigate was still up for grabs. "They're our friends Hermoine! We have to see what's going on. Besides I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding!" Her pace quickened as they threaded on London's busy sidewalks.

"Look that lodge might be more important than you think! Trust me you want to look into it." Harry felt as if he was talking to a brick wall "No you want too look into it! And what's so bloody important about this lodge!" She was reaching boiling point on the matter

"Oh just give up asking me already! After we're done here we can try and contact someone we totally trust! But before that you will have to trust me!"

"We could split up? You can look into the lodge matter and I'll poke around a bit myself!" They turned a corner into a lone street. It took a few seconds for him to realize why it looked so familiar to him. "We're not splitting up! The last time you did something on your own you nearly got yourself killed. Besides this way we can swap two flies in one blow!"

"The leaky cauldron?" He asked.

Hermoine nodded "And books!" Taking out two flies with one blow indeed! They where bound to pick up at least a bit of information of what was going on in the wizarding world inside one of it's few pubs. Hermoine had made sure they where both cut of from it since he had been in the hospital for his safety. And the book store well he didn't really know what she was looking for there but it was surely related to the old lodge. Harry would have to settle with contacting the Weasley's later.

"Only one problem though." He had always resented being famous in the wizarding world but admitting that he was seemed to be a bit harder then just ignoring it.

"There's a slight chance that someone will recognize me!" Hermoine rolled her eyes "I know that of course!" She removed the handbag from her arm and opened it. Harry had been surprised to see her with something so feminine and had wondered what it's content was. Although he had gut feeling that he would regret knowing. She held the opened bag in front of him. Two large labeled bottles, one with his name the other with Hermoine's, containing a grey substance where the only things in it besides a dusty smell. "Polyjuice! How did you get that?" Hermoine snapped the bag shut again and placed it back on her arm

"Oh hush about it please Harry! I'll tell you later but right now we need to get into the pub!" It hit him how little and at the same time how much she had actually changed since the first year. Although she had relaxed about rule breaking it was only then when the reasons where right. The same applied to her right now so he asked no further.

"Do you reckon we should just stand here waiting for two wizards to come out?" She smirked "Well getting the polyjuice wasn't exactly easy so I never really thought about this part."

"Two it is!" He exclaimed. It was easier said then done though. After about two hours the only thing that had resembled a wizard was an old women dressed up in a rather colorful fashion but she had passed the pub without taking any notice to it. She did however take a rather keen interest in Harry winking in his direction. Hermoine had warned him against going over to her but his defiance had rewarded them with two pieces of candy each. The sun had decided to come out and was now doing it's best to toast the two young wizards alive.

One more hour had passed without them ever leaving their stakeout. Harry could feel the sweat on his back wetting his shirt. He took a closer look at Hermoine who appeared to be slightly overdressed for the occasion. She turned to confront his staring when he lingered. Her face was slightly red and Harry smiled happy to see her affected by the weather as much as he was. Using this as new found determination to keep waiting he turned his gaze back on the cauldron.

And not a second to soon. Two wizards one male and female had just left the cauldron and where now heading in the opposite direction of Harry and Hermoine. He immediately started to chase them but Hermoine held him back. "No Harry! Not those two please! Let's just keep waiting!" He looked at her in disbelief "Oh common! We've stood around here for close to 3 hours now! Look at is a way of getting back at her!" She hesitated "Yes but it's Rita!"

"And her photographer! It's perfect" He said.

"Well you're not the one who's going to have to impersonate her!" She was staring at him with a look on her face which he had last seen during flying lessons in their first year. "Think less do more!" He said throwing Hermoine in fit of confusion "Never mind!"

He grabbed her arm and walked off in the same direction as their quarry. They tried to keep a safe distance but Rita and her photographer where keeping a speedy pace. The two of them turned another corner into an abandoned street. Harry tugged Hermoine on her arm signaling it was now or never but she disagreed holding him back lightly by his arm.

Suddenly the pair in front of them seemed to turn their heads simultaneously. Harry pulled Hermoine into a small alley as fast as he could but he used too much force and her handbag slipped of her arm and fell on the sidewalk. She anxiously looked at the bag as if she could make it disappear by just staring at it. Harry tried to calm her down a bit

"You know I don't think we'll ever get our own detective show once this is over!" Hermoine immediately used her 'not amused' expression on him. Convinced it was time for action he took over her place next to the edge of the wall.

"I'm going to take a quick peek" He said as he slowly poked his head around the wall "Why do people always do this slowly?" He wondered "It's not like you become invisible just because you do it slowly!" The street was empty again apart from an old piece of paper that was being tossed around by the wind. "Damm! She's gone let's hurry!" They could not have gone straight ahead without going out of sight so Harry and Hermoine took a left turn at the first intersection. They nearly bumped into their quarry.

"Well there Mister Potter isn't that a nice surprise!" He was staring at the wrong side of a wand. "And miss Granger! You know that the authorities have called for you immediate arrest?" She smirked almost as if she knew that they had been separated from any source of wizarding information. Apparently it could be read of his face.

"AH! So you really did not have any contact with the wizarding world! Interesting I thought as much when I heard about your disappearance!" Hermoine let out a long sigh "And I was especially surprised to hear that you where involved as well!" As Rita's attention turned to Hermoine her wand went slightly off target. Impulsively Harry reached out and grabbed her arm forcing the wand to go off course completely. Her photographer who had been keeping his wand pointed at Hermoine quickly turned it in his direction. However he was not quite as quick as the young women he had been targeting. Before he had even managed to point it at Harry his wand was flying out of his hand and on the street.

"Damm!" Rita said as Harry took her wand "What are your plans now Potter? Kill the journalist to stop the news from spreading? You know you can't control the press that easily. The truth will get out!" She was simply to proud to be scared and not afraid to show it either.

"Or your version of it!" He said "There's just one thing we need you to do actually." He took out his wand "On the count of three.. one …two.. three!" As he spoke the last word both he and Hermoine used their wands to immobilize Rita and her photographer with the same spell that she had used in their first year on Neville. Hermione was smiling with satisfaction.

"Simple but effective!" He smiled at the satisfaction she had gotten from an immobilized Rita Skeeter. They hid the two bodies behind a dumpster in the small alley they themselves had previously hid in. Each took a hair and the clothes of their victims. Harry avoided a slightly delicate issue when he managed to keep in his laughter after Hermoine had switched her clothes with Rita's looking slightly hilarious. After Harry had changed as well she carefully removed the bottles from her bag and they each placed the hair in them.

"Cheers!" Harry said when he saw her disgusted look at the vial in her hand. "On three again?" She just nodded. He counted and on three they both took a big gulp of the polyjuice. He felt the familiar tingling as his body adjusted to it's new form but it was by far not as intensive as his previous experience. Hermione's was considerably better then the last time as well. She had slightly distrusted the potion but this time it did exactly what it was supposed to do. She looked at her reflection in a nearby window.

"Let's not stay like this a second longer then is needed!" Harry said. They covered the two bodies with a blanket they found in the trash nearby and headed of for the cauldron. "Now remember Harry try and act exactly as the photographer. You don't want to make a mistake or they will be right on to us!" Harry knew she was reflecting her own fear of failing to be Rita on him. All he had to do was stand next to her holding a camera. Well there was the slight issue with not knowing how to use it but he was pretty sure it would not be an issue. They walked back and stopped in front of the cauldron's door. "Ready Harry?"

"I am but... " He was not sure of how to tell Hermoine that her entire composure at the moment did not look like Rita's at all. "What?" She asked irritated.

"Nothing let's just get this over with!" He pushed it open and they entered the pub. The place was as muffy as always but not quite as busy. A few wizards where sitting around the tables drinking. It all looked very gloomy. The bartender was looking at Hermoine's Rita impersonation with surprise. "Let's start with him" Hermoine whispered to Harry as she walked towards the bar uncomfortably. He felt slightly embarrassed for her in spite of the fact that no one in the room knew who they really where. The bartender greeted Hermoine "Ah! Back for more aye Rita? Shall I just pour you another of the usual?"

"Euhm! Yes sure, sure!" Harry was holding his breath as he watched her struggle "Yes a bit more of the usual would be great!" The bartender took out a glass and started to pour a suspiciously dark fluid. It bubbled happily in Hermoine's glass as she picked it up carefully taking a sip. Her face froze as the substance fell to her stomach warming her intestines. But as far as she was concerned it was burning right through them. Harry took the glass out of her hands after which he gave the bartender an apologizing look. "She had enough for one day aye?" He said "Not so weird though it's one of the strongest I have lying around here!" Hermoine gave Harry a thankful look and then started her enquiries. "Yes well! I have some question for you if you don't mind?"

"Again? You do know I have costumers to attend too!" They looked over their shoulders at the few wizards who where slowly working their way through some bottles instead of the usual glasses. "Alright! I used to have costumers to attend to then. This ratchet war is bad for business."

"War!" Harry said nearly startling the bartender into dropping the glass he was cleaning. "Have you been living with your head in the gutter? Everyone knows the dark lord is slowly taking over! Without Dumbledore there's no one left to stand up to him! They say even the minister himself is on You-Know-Who's payroll now."

"But their must be someone left who is resisting?" Hermoine asked "Doing what you do you must overhear a fair share of the rumors"

"Of course I do! But I'm not about to go and endanger my business by telling it all to you now would I? You know they say he has spy's everywhere! By Merlin's beard what if they where to attack the cauldron? I would be ruined." Hermoine considered this for a few seconds and then leaned over to Tom whispering something in his ear. Harry saw him nod and then whisper something back to Hermoine who smiled and thanked him. "Well I think we're all done here!" She said "It's about time for us to head off again!" She left Harry startled and walked off towards the door. "That's it?" He asked her.

"Oh just follow me already will you!" He couldn't help but think that her Rita Skeeter impression was suddenly nearly perfect. "Sure" Harry said quietly to himself. When he followed her outside she was already tapping the pavement impatiently with her foot. "So do you mind telling me just why we're done here already?" He asked

"It's obvious isn't it Harry!" He gave her a questioning albeit irritated look. "Oh alright! Look there's no way he would have talked to us with all those wizards about now wouldn't he? You heard him he's afraid!"

"So what did you whisper with him about?" He asked while pulling her away from the cauldron by her arm trying to get away from the it's door.

"I got him to agree with meeting us after the cauldron's closed." She turned her sight to the ground before continuing. "And I kind of told him I would guarantee to make the cauldron look good in an article as well. That it would be good for business." There was a hint of guild in her voice as she spoke those last words.

"Well it was the right thing to do." He said which caused Hermoine to look up at him "I know that! But still it doesn't feel right to manipulate these people to get what we want Harry. We're using their fear. Doesn't it bother you?" He couldn't help but feel slightly impatient with her sudden outburst in ethics. "Look there's really no time for this we only have a limited amount of polyjuice and we still have to check out the bookstore for whatever reason you wanted to go there!" This seemed to reshuffle her priories in the right order. "Your right and to be honest I don't want to spend one more second then needed in these clothes. I do hope her perfume won't linger." He sniggered at her earthly worry as the pair set of to the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. As they approached Harry thought of how much of a constant the old alley must be. It had lived through century's it's true nature undetected by muggle's yet it's narrow path had allowed wizards a corridor between the two worlds. A corridor funnily enough hidden by a brick wall.

Something however was not entirely familiar today. As they turned the corner he spotted two wizards guarding it. Harry and Hermoine stopped dead in their tracks. Apparently security had been tightened allot. Hermoine shot him a nervous look as she held the straps of her handbag with the polyjuice tightly. He motioned for her to relax and she released her strangle on the straps a bit. Turning around now would make them look suspicious to say the least so Harry took a large step forward and Hermoine thankfully followed him. "Hey" He said to one of the two guards. The man inspected him from top till toe before replying in a sluggish fashion. "Hey."

"Is there any chance we could enter Diagon alley?" He asked straight forward. "By the minister's order we have to check everyone leaving or entering Diagon Alley." The taller of the two guards said bored. "Check as in?" Harry's ignorance on the matter aggregated the two guards who had had at point been on standing in the very same spot for eight hours straight.

"Basic magical checkup for hidden use of spells potions or any other magical means and a basic check of the personal affects carried by the trespasser!" The guard spoke again as if directly passing on his superiors orders. "So right personal effects and magical means like potions?" Harry asked out of instinct trying to buy more time to come up with some cunning plan to avoid the checkup. Hermoine was busy with something in Rita's pockets and seemed to try and distance herself as far from the situation as possible. In the mean time Harry was certainly not close to winning the sympathy of the wizards in front of him who sighed loudly and closed his eyes before replying with a forced formality. "Yes sir. I trust that won't be a problem?"

"Say boys?" Hermoine suddenly took a step forward taking out a large feathery quill from one of her pockets "You look like you've been standing here for quite a while? I wonder what the public would think if they knew the ministry was pressuring their employees by keeping them on long tedious guard posts."

"I could not say ma'am." The guard replied. Hermoine however knew they had no other options so she kept the conversation going. "Well surely there must be something we can do to avoid this in the future? " She said while gently playing with the quill in her hands. It however seemed to be impossible to dent their discipline even a little so. "Oh but I could always write an article about the great prestige of the job?"

"No thanks ma'am. Now could you please show us the contents of your purse?" He still spoke with formality but the growing anger was obvious. Hermoine took the bag of her arm and held it close to herself. "Ma'am?" Harry knew he had to do something at this point but he could not come up with any other plan that did not detail them blasting their way through but that became impossible once the wizards, growing suspicious, readied their wands. As did his best to try and come up with something his mind wandered off thinking of the guards he had seen one time who where keeping post outside of Buckingham palace. His aunt had insisted on Harry making a photograph of one of the guards and Dudley. Then it him! He took two large steps forward and positioned himself in between Hermoine and the guards. "Well guys could you do me a favor though?"

"Sir we're not here to do you favors!" The tall guard said.

"Yes I know that but you see I would love to take a photo of Miss Skeeter me and one of you lot. You know for the kids home! So they'll know their dad isn't just dealing with mad folks all day long!" Harry said on a dare.

"Fine! We'll take the picture and then you will cooperate without question!" He handed the camera to the tall guard he motioned for Hermoine to stand beside the remaining guard taking a small moment to look her in the eyes. She returned the look and Harry now felt comfortable that she was up-to-date with his plan. As they stood right next to the other guard he lowered his right hand in his pocket reaching where he had kept his wand. "Right get ready!" The guard holding the camera spoke. "Ready!" Harry suddenly said loudly and two large flashes went of on each of the guard's sides. He fell for over immobilized. The tall guard dropped the camera on the floor which broke as it hit the pavement. He was however not fast enough to stop both Harry and Hermoine immobilizing him at the same time.

"I'd say we're rising rapidly on the most wanted list!" Harry joked. Dispute the seriousness of the matter he knew he had bigger fish to fry. Hermoine however did not look comfortable at all with taking out ministry officials and scowled at him for joking about it. Agreeing that it was not the right time to quarrel about it they hid the bodies as quickly as they could in the same alley as the previous two. Luckily the street's where nearly empty and they managed to drag them off without too much difficulty. Finally ready to head off into Diagon Alley Harry took out his wand and tabbed the familiar order of bricks. Hermoine watched him as he turned his head and smiled. "Here goes!".

Hermoine nodded as they entered the bustling street. "Let's find that book and after that find a quiet spot to drink the polyjuice again!". What she did not notice was the moist build up in her bag that was causing small grey drops to fall on the ground leaving a trail. "Almost done!" Harry whispered to her. Hermoine lead them into the bookshop guiding him. It seemed as if she could find her way in there blindly. They stopped at a dusty old bookcase which looked as if it was decaying books included. Hermoine was tapping her bottom lip with her finger as she scanned the case. Harry decided that it would be safer not to bother her looked at some random titles.

"Ghastly ghosts, Haunting 101, Tribute to the Dead?" Certainly not titles that he would normally be interested in.

"Ah here it is!" Hermoine suddenly said taking out a dusty old book with a dark green cover. "Haunting fatalities? " He asked as she sank deeper into the pages. "Hello earth to Hermoine?"

"Oh grow some patience Harry!" She snapped at him. "Yes here it is!".

He looked at the pages she was pointing at. It was a list of haunting and related fatalities on top was a familiar name mentioned by Hermoine several times. "I knew I had seen this name before! The Shrieking Shack might be famous for being the most haunted place Harry but Hermit's Lodge has claimed the most fatalities! It actually took so many lives that the ministry decided to build a forest around it while sealing it magically from the public." Harry was starting to catch on.

"It was sealed?" Hermoine's expression was starting to become euphoric indicating the pieces of the puzzle inside her head had fallen in place. "Yes! It was sealed by Dumbledore himself and only a wizard of his caliber would be able to break it!"

"But even it the seal was broken that doesn't explain how I got there?" Hermoine shook her head in disagreement. "It does! One of the reasons that the Lodge has claimed so many lives is due to the fact that it somehow lures it victims close! The bigger question would be who would want to release the seal!"

"Voldermort" Harry said his jaws clenched together as Hermoine grabbed his upper arm gently, looking him deep in the eyes. "Harry… that would also mean the Weasley's and everybody else was working with him!" He tried to pull his arm free from her grasp but her grip only became stronger. "It's not true!" He said his voice raised. "Harry please we cannot contact them! Please we have to think this over carefully!".

"No!" He said as tears starting to well up slowly. "No this can't be! There has to be an explanation we have to.. I mean!". He was no longer able to control his emotions as he let himself fall to the floor slowly. Hermoine embraced him trying to comfort Harry as best as she could. However they where starting to gain the attention of the store's owner and few present costumers who where looking their way with great interest.

"Harry I'm so sorry but we have to find a quite spot to renew the polyjuice potion." She whispered to him. He turned his head up to face her and to Hermoine's shock she was staring into a pair of puffy green eyes.

"Oh no! It's losing it's effect already!".As Harry continued to transform back to his usual self Hermoine quickly opened her bag only to face her next great shock. Both bottles had broken and had mixed rendering the polyjuice potion useless unless they wanted to pretend to both male and female at the same time. Large footsteps in the background added to her growing panic. The shop owner appeared behind them his face in horror as if he was in mortal peril as he looked at them. "Harry Potter!" He roared through the shop as everyone started to panic shouting for help. Both Harry and Hermoine where frozen in place, discovered and totally vulnerable in the middle of Diagon Alley. They had no way out!


End file.
